World Cube Association adds FTO, removes Clock from official events

The World Cube Association has added Face Turning Octahedron, better known as FTO, to its official event list and removed Clock, a move that redraws the competitive map for speedcubers heading into 2027. The board said FTO will be eligible for WCA competitions from January 2, 2027, while Clock will stay on the schedule until July 18, 2027 before disappearing from official WCA contests after the 2027 World Championship.

The decision, announced Wednesday, June 24, 2026, is the biggest program shift the WCA has made in years. The board said it is the first new official WCA event since Skewb was added in 2014, and that FTO earned its place after several years of sustained community interest and majority support in recent surveys. FTO will use the same Average of 5 format that most current events use, giving organizers a familiar structure from the start.

For competitors, the split timetable matters immediately. Clock solvers still have a long competitive runway, but the event’s final official appearance is now fixed, and the WCA said the World Championship 2027 will be the last competition to officially hold it. At the same time, FTO specialists finally have a date when their event becomes part of the official circuit, opening a new lane for results, rankings, and championship-level ambitions.

The WCA also tied the change to practical concerns on the competition floor. It said Clock is difficult to scramble correctly, requires different procedures or equipment than other speedsolving events, and has lower spectator visibility than the rest of the program. Removing it, the board said, strengthens the WCA’s identity as an organization for three-dimensional geometrical twisty puzzles rather than other mechanical puzzles.

That leaves organizers and puzzle makers with a clear shift in focus. Event directors can now prepare for FTO’s arrival in January 2027, while still planning around Clock through the middle of that year. The WCA said FTO regulations will be developed by the WCA Regulations Committee and opened for feedback during the January 2027 regulations cycle, which means the rules framework will land in a system that has been unified since the July 17, 2025 release of the current WCA Regulations document.

The result is a rare kind of lineup change in speedcubing: one event enters through the front door while another is given a defined farewell. FTO now has the official stage, and Clock has a last lap before the final solve at Worlds 2027.